Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar was the first player to cross the 10,000 run mark in Tests.

Scoring over 10,000 runs across a playing career in any format of cricket is considered a significant achievement.[1] In the chase for achieving top scores, West Indian Garfield Sobers retired as the most prolific run scorer in Test cricket, with a total of 8,032 runs in 1974.[2] The record stood for nine years, until it was broken by England's Geoffrey Boycott in the 1982 series against India.[3][4] Boycott remained the top scorer in the format until Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar surpassed his tally two years later in 1983.[5][6] In March 1987, Gavaskar became the first player to cross 10,000 run mark in Tests during a match against Pakistan.[7] As of December 2022, fourteen players—from seven teams that are Full Members of the International Cricket Council (ICC)—have scored 10,000 runs in Tests. Out of these, three are from Australia and India, while two are from England, Sri Lanka and the West Indies. One player each from Pakistan and South Africa form the rest.[7] No player from Bangladesh, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Ireland or Zimbabwe has passed the 10,000 run mark in Tests yet.

In terms of innings, West Indian Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara are the fastest (195) to reach the 10,000 run mark, while Australia's Steve Waugh is the slowest to achieve the feat (244).[7] Tendulkar holds multiple records—most appearances (200 matches), most runs (15,921) and highest number of both centuries (51) and half-centuries (68).[5] England's Joe Root is the fastest in terms of time span, taking 9 years and 174 days, while West Indian Shivnarine Chanderpaul's time span of 18 years and 37 days is the slowest among all. Joe Root and Alastair Cook share the record for the youngest player to score 10,000 runs, both reaching this milestone at the age of 31 years and 157 days.[8]

Players with 10,000 or more Test runs

10,000 or more runs in Tests
No. Player Portrait Team First Last Mat. Inn. Runs Avg. 100s 50s Age when reached Date[7]
1 Sachin Tendulkar[5][9] ^ Sachin Tendulkar  India 1989 2013 200 329 15,921 53.78 51 68 31 years and 326 days 16 March 2005
2 Ricky Ponting[5][10] Ricky Ponting  Australia 1995 2012 168 287 13,378 51.85 41 62 33 years and 163 days 30 May 2008
3 Jacques Kallis[5][11] Jacques Kallis  South Africa 1995 2013 166 280 13,289 55.37 45 55 33 years and 134 days 27 February 2009
4 Rahul Dravid[5][12] Rahul Dravid  India 1996 2012 164 286 13,288 52.31 36 63 35 years and 78 days 29 March 2008
5 Alastair Cook[5][13] Alastair Cook  England 2006 2018 161 291 12,472 45.35 33 57 31 years and 157 days 30 May 2016
6 Kumar Sangakkara[5][14] Kumar Sangakkara  Sri Lanka 2000 2015 134 233 12,400 57.40 38 52 35 years and 61 days 26 December 2012
7 Brian Lara[5][15] ^ Brian Lara  West Indies 1990 2006 131 232 11,953 52.88 34 48 35 years and 106 days 15 August 2004
8 Shivnarine Chanderpaul[5][16] Shivnarine Chanderpaul  West Indies 1994 2015 164 280 11,867 51.37 30 66 37 years and 254 days 26 April 2012
9 Mahela Jayawardene[5][17] Mahela Jayawardene  Sri Lanka 1997 2014 149 252 11,814 49.84 34 50 34 years and 213 days 26 December 2011
10 Joe Root[5][18] † Joe Root  England 2012 2023 132 242 11,416 50.43 30 58 32 years and 184 days 2 July 2022
11 Allan Border[5][19] ^ Allan Border  Australia 1978 1994 156 265 11,174 50.56 27 63 37 years and 159 days 2 January 1993
12 Steve Waugh[5][20] Steve Waugh  Australia 1985 2004 168 260 10,927 51.06 32 50 37 years and 215 days 3 January 2003
13 Sunil Gavaskar[5][21] ^ Sunil Gavaskar  India 1971 1987 125 214 10,122 51.12 34 45 37 years and 240 days 7 March 1987
14 Younis Khan[5][22] Younus Khan  Pakistan 2000 2017 118 213 10,099 52.05 34 33 39 years and 145 days 23 April 2017
References:[7][5]
Last updated : 2 July 2023

By country

10,000 or more runs by country in Tests
Teams 10,000 or more runs
 Australia 3
 India
 England 2
 Sri Lanka
 West Indies
 Pakistan 1
 South Africa
Total 14

See also

References

  1. ^ Ugra, Sharda (24 December 2009). "1987-Gavaskar is the first to score 10,000 test runs: A 10 tonne toast". India Today. Archived from the original on 22 August 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  2. ^ "Gary Sobers: Cricket's greatest genius". Rediff.com. 28 July 2010. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  3. ^ "Third Test Match — India vs. England 1981–82". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  4. ^ Botham, Ian (15 September 2009). Head On — Ian Botham: The Autobiography. Random House. ISBN 978-0-091-92149-1.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Records / Test matches / Batting records / Most runs in career". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 9 October 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  6. ^ Finlay, Ric (29 October 2008). "Record-holders for most Test runs". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Records / Test matches / Batting records / Fastest to 10000 runs". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  8. ^ "Joe Root: England batter passes 10,000 Test runs". BBC Sport. 5 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  9. ^ "Virat Kohli | Cricket Players and Officials". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 31 December 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  10. ^ "Ricky Ponting | Cricket Players and Officials". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 26 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  11. ^ "Jacques Kallis | Cricket Players and Officials". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 22 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  12. ^ "Rahul Dravid | Cricket Players and Officials". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 31 December 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  13. ^ "Alastair Cook | Cricket Players and Officials". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  14. ^ "Kumar Sangakkara | Cricket Players and Officials". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 22 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  15. ^ "Brian Lara | Cricket Players and Officials". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 8 September 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  16. ^ "Shivnarine Chanderpaul | Cricket Players and Officials". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  17. ^ "Mahela Jayawardene | Cricket Players and Officials". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 24 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  18. ^ "Joe Root | Cricket Players and Officials". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  19. ^ "Allan Border | Cricket Players and Officials". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 1 August 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  20. ^ "Steve Waugh | Cricket Players and Officials". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  21. ^ "Sunil Gavaskar | Cricket Players and Officials". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 16 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  22. ^ "Younis Khan | Cricket Players and Officials". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
Categories